Influence of Conjugation Axis on the Optical and Electronic Properties of Aryl-Substituted Benzobisoxazoles

Six different 2,6-diethyl-4,8-diarylbenzo­[1,2-<i>d</i>:4,5-<i>d</i>′]­bis­(oxazoles) and four different 2,4,6,8-tetraarylbenzobisoxazoles were synthesized in two steps: a Lewis acid catalyzed orthoester cyclization followed by a Suzuki or Stille cross-coupling with various arenes. The influence of aryl group substitution and/or conjugation axis variation on the optical and electronic properties of these benzobis­(oxazole) (BBO) compounds was evaluated. Structural modifications could be used to alter the HOMO, LUMO, and band gap over a range of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.5 eV, respectively. However, depending on the location and identity of the substituent, the HOMO level can be altered without significantly impacting the LUMO level. This is supported by the calculated frontier molecular orbitals. Our results indicate that the FMOs and band gaps of benzobisoxazoles can be readily modified either jointly or individually

Altering the Conjugation Pathway for Improved Performance of Benzobisoxazole-Based Polymer Guest Emitters in Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

Benzobisoxazoles (BBOs) are known to increase the electron affinities and improve the electron transporting properties of materials containing them. However, BBO copolymers generally do not perform well as emissive guests in guest–host PLEDs due to inefficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between host and guest. The incomplete FRET results in a large amount of host emission and limits the potential efficiencies of the devices. In all previously reported BBO copolymers, the conjugation pathway was through the oxazole rings. Herein we report six new BBO copolymers with backbone connectivity directly on the central benzene ring, resulting in a conjugation pathway for the polymers that is perpendicular to the previously reported pathway. Guest–host PLEDs made using these polymers show that the new conjugation pathway improves FRET between the poly­(<i>N</i>-vinylcarbazole) host and the BBO-containing polymer guest. Because of highly efficient FRET, no host emission is observed even at lower guest concentrations. The improved energy transfer results in devices with luminous efficiencies up to 3.1 Cd/A, a 3-fold improvement over previously reported BBO-based PLEDs. These results indicate that the conjugation pathway plays a critical role in designing emissive materials for guest–host PLEDs

Altering the Conjugation Pathway for Improved Performance of Benzobisoxazole-Based Polymer Guest Emitters in Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

Benzobisoxazoles (BBOs) are known to increase the electron affinities and improve the electron transporting properties of materials containing them. However, BBO copolymers generally do not perform well as emissive guests in guest–host PLEDs due to inefficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between host and guest. The incomplete FRET results in a large amount of host emission and limits the potential efficiencies of the devices. In all previously reported BBO copolymers, the conjugation pathway was through the oxazole rings. Herein we report six new BBO copolymers with backbone connectivity directly on the central benzene ring, resulting in a conjugation pathway for the polymers that is perpendicular to the previously reported pathway. Guest–host PLEDs made using these polymers show that the new conjugation pathway improves FRET between the poly­(<i>N</i>-vinylcarbazole) host and the BBO-containing polymer guest. Because of highly efficient FRET, no host emission is observed even at lower guest concentrations. The improved energy transfer results in devices with luminous efficiencies up to 3.1 Cd/A, a 3-fold improvement over previously reported BBO-based PLEDs. These results indicate that the conjugation pathway plays a critical role in designing emissive materials for guest–host PLEDs